1Hood Media Launches Website to Tell Authentic Stories for Black Pittsburgh | News | Pittsburgh

Originally having a soft launch on June, local artist and activist coalition 1Hood Media officially unveiled their new website this week: BlackPittsburgh.com. The goal of the site is to become a leading online source of real-time news, events and resources for the Black community in Pittsburgh.

1Hood Media, which Pittsburgh City Paper named in its People of the Year issue in 2020, created the new website to tackle negative narratives about Pittsburgh’s marginalized communities and make the voices of people of color heard more.

“BlackPittsburgh.com is an extension of the work we started at 1Hood Media over ten years ago to authentically tell our own stories,” said Jasiri X, Founder and CEO of 1Hood. “The ability to express our truth without modification or restriction is the foundation of our liberation.

Since 2006, 1Hood Media has strived to provide meaningful news, discussion and activism to black communities in Pittsburgh. In September, the group was one of 18 organizations to receive an inaugural grant from basketball legend Michael Jordan and Mark Jordan as part of their new Black Community Engagement Grants program. The $ 1 million grant supports communities across America to help fight racism.

1Hood Media is hoping the new website will build on historical black publications, such as Freedom’s Journal, The North Star, The Chicago Defender, and the New courier from Pittsburgh, and enlist journalists and historians to lend their storytelling skills to Pittsburgh’s black community.

The website plans to cover several topics such as news, politics, health, the arts and entertainment. It will also provide a platform for popular 1Hood Media and 1Hood Power podcasts, including the trending programs “What Black Pittsburgh Needs to Know” and “This Week in White Supremacy”.

Award-winning historian, University of Pittsburgh professor and writer Keisha N. Blain praised the launch of 1Hood and said there was a need for black-led media in Pittsburgh.

“There are so many false statements and lies about black people in the mainstream media,” Blain said in a press release. “We deserve places that center black voices and allow us the unfettered space to tell our own stories with nuance and vitality.”